10 Marvel Characters Who Are Much Stronger Than When They First Debuted

Marvel Comics has some very overpowered characters, but many of the most powerful were not always this strong. When Marvel debuted its superhero line in the 1960s, the heroes had powers unlike anything else done before, whether this was a teenager given the powers of a spider or a man exposed to gamma radiation that turned him into a giant green monster. However, these powers were not only new to fans, but they were new to the comic book creators, and over the years, creative teams found a way to increase and perfect these powers in ways that weren’t shown when the heroes were first starting out.

Here is a look at 10 Marvel Comics characters who are much stronger now than they were when they first debuted as heroes.

10) Wonder Man

When Wonder Man first appeared in Avengers #9 in 1964, Baron Zemo gave him powers with a machine that gave him superhuman strength and durability. However, he died quickly when he betrayed Zemo to save the Avengers. When Wonder Man was resurrected, he was more than a strongman hero. Over the years, Wonder Man has received power-ups that involve him being composed of ionic energy, and it is not clear if he is actually flesh at all or just ionic energy. He is now invulnerable, can manipulate energy, and is possibly immortal.

9) Magik

When Illyana Rasputina first appeared in Marvel Comics, she was a young child and had no powers yet. However, when she was six, the demon Belasco abducted her and took her to Limbo, where he kept her for seven years. She returned only seconds later, but was aged to 13, the same age as Kitty Pryde. Her mutant powers involved her creating Stepping Discs to teleport anywhere, including other dimensions. She also had magic powers she learned in Limbo. However, over the years, she has increased her magic powers and is now the Sorcerer Supreme in Limbo, drastically more powerful than she was as a member of the New Mutants.

8) Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau was a harbor control lieutenant in New Orleans who had her powers to control light since she wa sa child. She ended up finally using those powers when she helped save the city from a terrorist by destroying his equipment with her hands. She then decided to become a superhero and took the name Captain Marvel, resigned from the Navy, and eventually joined the Avengers. However, over the years, she has proven she can do more than control light. Monica can manipulate all energy, regardless of the type, and she can turn it into almost anything, making her one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes.

7) Iceman

In the original X-Men comics, no one was extremely powerful, as each of the mutants was still learning how to use their powers. However, each of these original members ended up becoming much more powerful as they got older, and none more so than Iceman. Initially, Iceman was shown to have snow powers, rather than ice powers, and often threw snowballs while creating ice sleds to travel on. That wasn’t even close to his power level. Iceman is an Omega-level mutant. He has the potential of freezing the entire planet, he can kill someone instantly by freezing their blood, and he is almost immortal as he can reform from water if his body is destroyed.

6) Thor

Thor has always been powerful, but his power levels increased to an almost inconceivable level in the last two decades. In the start, Thor was a powerful god who could control lightning and use his weapon, Mjolnir, to great effect. He was arguably the most powerful member of the original Avengers team, rivaling Thor. However, when he replaced Odin as the King of Asgard and got the Odinforce to use for himself, he became almost all-powerful. He even killed Galactus, something that he never came close to doing in the past when he fought the cosmic being.

5) Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch was a mutant villain when she first appeared in the pages of The X-Men as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. She used what was called Chaos Magic, and she proved to be strong early on, but not as powerful as she would become in later years. As a member of the Avengers, she proved a planet-level threat more than once, both when villains manipulated her and when she lost control of her emotions, such as in Avengers Disassembled and House of M. She was so powerful that the Avengers and X-Men almost agreed to kill her to stop the threat she posed. Wanda is now the Sircerer Supreme, making her Earth’s most powerful sorceress.

4) The Incredible Hulk

When Hulk first appeared in Marvel Comics, he was a powerful monster and the reason the Avengers formed, since no one Avenger could beat him at that time. Thor might have stood a chance, but Hulk was stronger, although not as strong as he would become in later years. Hulk was just a powerful monster who wreaked havoc and moved on his way. However, he is now the strongest hero in Marvel, someone who is fated to outlive the rest of humanity at the end of time. Hulk gets stronger the angrier he gets, and is possibly incapable of defeat, something that wasn’t true in the first two decades of Marvel Comics.

3) The Invisible Woman

If there is one thing that classic Marvel Comics did poorly, it was its treatment of women. Whether looking at Wasp or The Invisible Girl, Marvel creators often showed them as flighty women who would rather shop or flirt with the boys than fight criminals. Both of these women, as well as other female Marvel heroes, have gotten a thousand times better over the years. The Invisible Girl was first able to turn invisible and use a force field. However, it turned out she is more powerful than most of the Fantastic Four, as she could kill someone by enclosing a field around their head. She has shown that her control of force fields allows her to defeat several big-time heroes, including Doctor Doom.

2) Jean Grey

When Jean Grey first appeared in the X-Men, she was a telekinetic. The extent of her powers was moving things with her mind, and that made her a nice offensive weapon. However, her power levels grew to untold levels since that time. It all started when she learned she was a psychic, and Professor X had blocked those powers and any knowledge Jean had of them. When the Phoenix Force took over her form, it increased her powers even more. Now, Jean Grey is the most powerful psychic in Marvel Comics, and her control of the Phoenix Force makes her a multiversal threat on the highest level.

1) Carol Danvers

Carol Danvers started as a normal person who was in the Air Force and was an ally of Captain Mar-Vell when he was working on Earth. However, she ended up getting powers when she was involved in an accident working with Mar-Vell. This led her to gain powers, and she became Ms. Marvel. She has similar powers to Captain Mar-Vell, but this all changed when Brood scientists captured and experimented on her, giving her more powers, where she is now able to absorb and rechannel energy of all sorts, making her one of the most powerful heroes in the universe.

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